Nonfoaming emulsifiable oils



Patented June 9, 1942 v 2,285,940 y NONFOAMING EMULSIFIABLE olLs Otto Niirring. Hamburg, Germany. assignor to Shell Development Company, San Francisco, Calif.. a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application April 4, 1940, Serial No. 327,785. In Germany May 20, 1939 tures of the products which may be formed by 12 Claims.

j This invention deals with -a method for re:

ducing foaming of water-soluble oils and their emulsions, and has for its object the production of emulsifiable oils which contain an emulsifying agent but nevertheless do not exhibit excessive foaming properties.

It is known that readily emulsifiable oils which usually go by the name of soluble oils" can be prepared by the addition to water-insoluble oils, such as fatty oils, mineral oils, etc., of suitable emulsifiers. Such Oils are used in cutting oils, spray oils, anti-corrosives, insecticides, germicides, etc. Examples of suitable emulsifiers for these oils are Turkey-red oil, sulfonated linseed oil, sulfonated rapeseed oil, alkali metal soaps, particularly in conjunction with mutual solvents. petroleum sulfonic acids and their salts, esters or ethers of polyhydric alcohols with sulfonated oils or sulfonated dicarboxylic acids, etc.

Many of the water-soluble" oils so produced usually have the great disadvantage of tending to foam strongly. This property frequently reduces their usefulness, sometimes to the point of total inapplicability. When using emulsions of such oils as cutting oils and the like, it is common practice to circulate them by pumping them from a receiving tank to a lathe or drill and then returning them to a, tank. In the course of circulation, the strong agitation causes foaming. Foam so produced is often so stable that it continuously accumulates and eventually runs out of the tank.

It has now been found thatthe foam-forming tendencies of water-soluble oils which contain the requisite amounts of emulsifiers and foam, when agitated in the presence of water can be reduced greatly, and the stability of any foam formed from such oils can be reduced to a degree such that the oils can be considered substantially non-foaming. by adding a few percent. of suli fonated fish oils, particularly fish liver oils. or

their products of neutralization, to the oils or to their emulsions.

Particularly useful for this purpose are fish oils having relatively low saponification numbers, for example, between 145 and 155. Examples of such fish oils are shark oilsand shark liver oils. Fish oils having higher saponiflcation values, for example cod oils, herring oils, etc., as well as seal oils, may also be used, especially if they have been sulfonated with relatively large amounts of sulfuric acid to produce more highly sulfonated products.

By sulfonation products I mean to include sulfate esters and sulfonic acids, and any mixthe sulfuric acid treatment of the fish oils or seal oils under the conditions described.

In producing the sulfonated fish oils, it. is convenient to treat them with sulfuric acid having a concentration from about 90% to 105%, preferably sulfuric acid monohydrate, in a manner similar to that used in the production of Turkey red oils. The quantity of sulfuric acid-which is necessary for the sulfonati'on depends somewhat upon the properties, particularly the saponification' numbers. of the material to be sulfonated, and usually varies between about 17% and 25% by weight of the oil to be treated.

The product's of the sulfonation may be added to the water-soluble oils or to their emulsions. It is preferable to use them after neutralization with bases, such as alkali metal hydroxides,- ammonia, etc., although often thefree acids are equally useful.

While the amount of sulfonated antifoaming agent to be added will depend upon the special combination of oil and emulsifying agent with which it is to be used, it has been found in general that amounts from 0.2% to 25% are sufficient, and that ordinarily amounts between 1% and 10% are preferable.

The effect of the foam-reducing addition compounds can be demonstrated by shaking two samples ofemulsions of a water-soluble oil of equal concentrations in water, to one of which has been added a small amount of the foam-reducing sulfonates produced from fish or fish liver oils. Normally the sample containing no sulfonate. produces a very stable oil foam; in the ties, the sulfonates of this invention have great 9 For example, the sulfonated ,flsh' oils and their neutralization products are eifec-.

advantages.

tive in hard water in contrast to sulfonated sperm oils, the latter forming a precipitate with lime. Furthermore, emulsions produced with sulfonated fish oils are more stable at low temperatures. In addition, the raw materials for the production of the addition compounds of this invention are considerably less expensive than sperm oils.

l Example To conventional cutting oils which contained from to of a petroleum sulfonate' emulsifier and from 85% to 90% mineral oil, 6% ofa sulfonated shark oil was added. The oils so produced did not foam even when they were.

agitated very violently.

I claim as my invention:

1. The process of reducing the foaming tendency of a stable aqueous emulsion of a water-soluble oil which foams when agitated, comprising adding to said emulsion a product obtained by sulfonation of a fatty oil selected from the group consisting of fish oils and seal oils sufficient substantially to suppress foaming.

2. The process of claim oil has a saponification number between 145 and 155.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein said fatty oil is shark liver oil.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the amount added of said product is between 0.2% and 25%.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the amount added of said product is between 1% and 10%.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the fatty oil is sulfonated with 17% to 25% sulfuric acid having a concentration of 90-105%.

'7. The process of claim 1, wherein the product of sulfonation is neutralized with a water-soluble base.

8. An emulsifiable oil which is substantially non-foaming when agitated with water, comprising an oleaginous liquid containing an amount of an emulsifier which is sumcient to create a stable emulsion and foaming when agitating said liquid with water and an additional amount of a product obtained by sulfonation of a fatty oil selected. from the group consisting of fish oils.

and seal oils sumcient substantially to suppress foaming.

1, wherein said fatty,

9. An emulsion which is substantially non;- foaming when agitated with water, comprising an oleaginous liquid containing an amount of an emulsifier which-is sufficient to create a stable emulsion and foaming when agitating said liquid with water and an additional amount of a product obtained by sulfonation ofshark liver oil sufficient substantially to suppress foaming.

10. An emulsion which is substantially nonfoaming when agitated with water, comprising an oleaginous liquid containing an amount of an emulsifier which is suflicient to create a stable emulsion and foaming when agitating said liquid with water and 0.2% to of a product obtained by sulfonation of a fatty oil selected from the group consisting of fish oils and seal oils sufficient substantialLv to suppress foaming.

v 11. An emulsion which is substantially nonfoaming when agitated with water, comprising an oleaginous liquid containing an amount of an emulsifier which is suificient to create a stable emulsion and foaming when agitating said liquid with water and 1 to 10% of a product obtained by sulfonation of a fatty oil selected from the group consisting of fish oils and seal oils sufii cient substantially to suppress foaming.

12. An emulsifiable oil which is substantially non-foaming when agitated with water, comprising an oleaginous liquid containing an amountof an emulsifier which is sufficient to create a stable emulsion and foaming when agitating said liquid with water and an additional amount of a product obtained by sulfonation and subsequent neutralization with a water-soluble base of a fatty oil selected from the group consisting of fish oils and seal oils sufilcient substantially to suppress foaming.

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